Arizona counties face deadline to certify 2022 election

PHOENIX (AP) — Six Arizona counties should resolve Monday whether or not to certify 2022 election outcomes amid strain from some Republicans to not formally approve a vote rely that had Democrats successful for U.S. Senate, governor and different statewide races.

Election outcomes have largely been licensed with out concern in jurisdictions throughout the nation. That’s not been the case in Arizona, which was a focus for efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the the 2020 election and push false narratives of fraud.

Arizona was lengthy a GOP stronghold, however Democrats gained many of the highest profile races over Republicans who aggressively promoted Trump’s 2020 election lies. Kari Lake, the GOP candidate for governor, and Mark Finchem, the candidate for secretary of state, have refused to acknowledge their losses. They blame Republican election officers in Maricopa County for an issue with some poll printers.

Two Republican-controlled Arizona counties have voted to not certify, deferring a remaining determination till Monday, the final day it’s allowed below state regulation.

Republican supervisors in Mohave County stated final week that they’ll log out Monday however wished to register a protest in opposition to in opposition to voting points in Maricopa County. In Cochise County, GOP supervisors demanded that the secretary of state show vote-counting machines had been legally licensed earlier than they’ll approve the election outcomes.

State Elections Director Kori Lorick has stated the machines are correctly licensed to be used in elections. She wrote in a letter final week that the state would sue to power Cochise County supervisors to certify, and in the event that they proceed to balk, would exclude the county’s numbers from the statewide canvass scheduled for Dec. 5. That transfer threatens to flip the victor in at the least two shut races — a U.S. Home seat and state faculties chief — from a Republican to a Democrat.

Lake has pointed to issues on Election Day in Maricopa County, the place printers at some vote facilities produced ballots with markings that had been too gentle to be learn by on-site tabulators. Strains backed up amid the confusion, and Lake says an unknown variety of her supporters might have been dissuaded from voting consequently.

She filed a public data lawsuit final week, demanding the county produce paperwork shedding gentle on the problem earlier than voting to certify the election on Monday. Republican Legal professional Common Mark Brnovich has additionally demanded an evidence forward of the vote.

County officers have repeatedly stated that every one the ballots had been counted and that nobody misplaced their skill to vote. These with ballots that would not be learn on web site had been instructed to position them in a safe field to be tabulated later by extra sturdy machines at county elections headquarters.

The county stated that about 17,000 Election Day ballots had been concerned and needed to be counted later as an alternative of on the polling place. Solely 16% of the 1.56 million votes forged in Maricopa County had been made in-person on Election Day. These votes went overwhelmingly for Republicans.

The Republican Nationwide Committee and the GOP candidate for Arizona lawyer common, Abraham Hamadeh, filed an election problem in his race, which is slated for an computerized recount with Hamadeh trailing by 510 votes.

Kelli Ward, the state GOP chair, has urged supporters to push their county supervisors to delay a certification vote till after a scheduling listening to within the Hamadeh case, which is slated for Monday afternoon.

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Observe the AP’s protection of the 2022 midterm elections at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections